I almost think that it would be wise to keep Hughes in the minors for the rest of the season even after he comes off the DL. He really looked like he could use a little extra seasoning at AAA even before he got hurt.

Of course, if New York's rotation is still beat up, they may not have a choice...

If you're not in an AL only league or say a 16 team mixed I really don't see him contributing much this season. I'm not sure what his return timetable is, but if he's only going 3+ innings so far I'd think september is when he'd likely return and then he gets what? 4 or 5 starts at most and the first 1 or 2 probably rough starts.

"A couple of postgame Phil Hughes notes for you Phil Phanatics out there....

-Hughes and minor-league pitching coordinator Nardi Contreras were both very pleased with the way Phranchise threw the ball. The velocity was 94-95 mph on the fastball early in the game and was still around 91-93 in the fifth inning, which was his last. His curveball was excellent, and Contreras said the changeup is not quite there yet but that he wouldn't expect it to be after only three minor-league appearances.

-Hughes no longer throws a slider, having scrapped it in favor of a cutter. Hughes said the slider was a 78-80 mph pitch, perhaps too close in velocity to his changeup, and the cutter comes in around 88 mph. He used it with some effectiveness as a strikeout pitch tonight.

-He did NOT wear his glasses to pitch, but he will. His explanation was that he has a very violent head-jerk at the end of his delivery, and the glasses he's been wearing were slipping down his nose. So he ordered some new glasses with a better grip on them, but the shipment didn't arrive until today, and he didn't feel comfortable trying them out in a game.

"It was all right tonight," Hughes said. "I could see OK."

But the next time you see him on the mound in a major-league game, he'll be wearing glasses.

-As we spoke to Hughes after the game, he was constantly looking over our shoulders at the Yankees-Rangers game on the clubhouse TV. He admitted to fighting impatience to get through his rehab and return to the majors.

"It's been hard," he said. "You want to be back. You want to be playing. The season gets a day older every time you wake up. But all I can do right now is continue to throw well and prove I'm healthy."

-He is scheduled to throw 85 pitches in his next start, which is scheduled for Tuesday, though we're not sure where. And that figure, he well knows, means the start after that COULD be for the big-league club, if all goes well.

"As long as there's a game left in the season, you can help in some fashion," Hughes said. "There may not be much of a season left, but there's still a chance to help."

All right, folks, that's it. Hope I kept you informed and entertained. My phone can't take pictures, so Vincenzo had me there. But I think I was able to hang with the whippersnapper for most of the night. You be the judge. Me, I'm packing up and heading back home to Jersey. I'll pick up some Schrute Farms Beets along the way...."http://www.nj.com/yankees/index.ssf/200 ... _wrap.html